


All Shook Up

by reindeerjumper



Category: Bridget Jones's Diary (2001), Bridget Jones's Diary - All Media Types, Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, POV Female Character, POV First Person, Prompt Fic, Prompt Fill, Reunited and It Feels So Good, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-18
Updated: 2016-10-18
Packaged: 2018-08-23 05:31:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,671
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8315743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reindeerjumper/pseuds/reindeerjumper
Summary: After nearly getting squashed by an oncoming vehicle, a very pregnant Bridget reaches out to the only person she knows can calm her down.





	

**Author's Note:**

> A prompt fill for NH :) I had a blast writing this one! BJB spoilers if you missed the tags!

I shouldn't have gone over to his house. I blame the hormones and the emotions and Jack’s abrupt confession. Talk about showing your true colors...I still can't believe he led Mark to believe that I wouldn't have “dressed for the occasion” and that Mark was stupid enough to believe it. I know I can be a mess but I'm not _reckless_. Either way, I shouldn't have let my emotions get the best me of me and I definitely shouldn't have gone to Mark’s. For a woman in my state, seeing Candida (fine, _Camilla_ ) greet him at the door could have put me into early labor. Luckily it didn't, but that's besides the point.

  
The point is that in 30 seconds, I went from elated (and slightly relieved) at seeing Mark safely unfolding himself out of the cab to completely crushed and embarrassed when he opened his front door. And then I almost was flattened by a car on his street corner. Truly, it's too much for one pregnant woman to handle. I'm with _child_. I should be relaxing with my feet up eating pickles (and maybe Pringles), not sitting by myself on a park bench crying and hugging my bump and feeling sorry for myself.

  
Feeling sorry for myself really has never done me any good. It leads me to doing stupid things that I shouldn't...like texting Mark Darcy 15 minutes after seeing him back together with his ex-wife. But I did it anyway, in the hopes that he'd reach back out to me and we could fix this whole Jack/Mark mess.

  
_4:53 -- Mark, please get back to me. Terrible mistake on all of our parts. Heartbroken and crushed on all accounts...was even almost crushed by oncoming traffic. x, B_

  
Ten minutes had gone by with still no answer. I had stopped at the park because I just couldn't find the strength or energy to walk all the way back to my flat, and in my haste to get to Mark I had left my wallet and purse at home...hopefully Jack was still there, or at least knew me well enough at this point to leave my door unlocked. The tears that had started after my near death experience hadn't stopped, and I didn't quite feel like stopping them. Sometimes you just need a good, cleansing cry in public to not only humiliate you back to reality, but to make yourself feel better, too. _Bloody Jack...bloody Mark. Bugger both of them. I can do this on my own. Who needs a man anyway? Certainly not me._

  
I let out a fresh sob and a hiccup, and the baby gave me a swift kick to the ribs. “I know, love. I know,” I said soothingly as I gave the underside of my bump a loving rub. _Both of your dads are utter rubbish and I'm a crying mess. I'd kick me, too._ An elderly man and his bulldog passed by, and he was just shy of gaping at me. “Can I help you?” I asked haughtily, looking at him with my best “wife of Mark Darcy” expression. He dropped his eyes quickly and kept walking. _That's what I thought, you nosy old man._ I looked up and down the sidewalk in the hopes of seeing Mark or at least someone I knew so they could give me a lift back to my flat, but no luck. Suddenly, I felt a buzz in my pocket.

  
_Mark Darcy @ 5:02 -- Are you ok? Where are you?_

  
My heart suddenly began to soar as I read the text from Mark. I mean, he probably was still with his stick insect of a wife, but he finally cared enough to text me back! In under an hour! And without an excuse! It was as if I was on cloud nine. I sniffled once or twice and took a deep breath before steadying my hands for a reply.

  
_5:04 -- I'm ok, just very shaken up. There's been a terrible mistake and I need to see you ASAP. I'm at the park around the corner from your house_

_Mark Darcy @ 5:05 -- The park? Bridget, it's freezing out. What are you doing there? Are you sure you're not hurt?_

_5:07 -- I'm fine just please hurry. Very urgent_

_Mark Darcy @ 5:08 -- I'm already on my way_

I leaned back on the park bench with a sigh. Lovely, valiant Mark, on his way to rescue me. A sour thought crept into my mind though as I reveled in the ease of getting ahold of him. _He answered awfully quickly...has he been reading my texts this entire time without answering me?_ I tried to shake the thought away, but I was now fixated on it. _That bloody bastard. No, mustn't get upset. We're on the precipice of reconciling and finally ending up together the way we should be. So he hasn't been answering...I'm sure there's a reason. Just like every other reason he's ever given me._

_…that bloody bastard._

Now I was stewing. Even as I tried to think positively and be thankful for Mark coming to meet and rescue me, I couldn't help wanting to wallop him over the head. My tears had dried up and were replaced with pure hormonal rage. _He's been ignoring me this entire time! THE ENTIRE TIME! I'm pregnant beyond pregnant and he hasn't had the decency to answer me! Wait until he gets here. Just. Wait._

  
The minutes ticked by at an absolutely dawdling pace. I was beginning to wonder if he even knew which park I was talking about. _It's not like he'd have any reason to **go** to a park. Pompous brainiac._ A black sedan approached from down the street and I figured it was him. _It's about time._ I lifted a hand in an attempt to flag him down, but it wasn't him. The sedan whizzed by and I couldn't help feeling a little let down. My hormonal rage was ebbing to a disgruntledness. A few more minutes and my disgruntledness was a sober mew that was on the verge of becoming a sob.

  
The tears started welling in my eyes and I looked to my right to distract myself from letting them fall. In the distance I could see a tall, dark figure approaching me. It seemed that whoever it was running, but they weren't an elegant runner...it was more of a gangly, floppy-limbed run. I squinted my eyes and couldn't believe what I was seeing. “It can't be…” I heard myself mutter as the figure got closer. The next thing I knew, Mark Darcy was standing in front of me, completely doubled over and puffing like a train. “Mark!” I exclaimed, standing up quickly to go over to him. He held out a hand with one finger up, still bent over as he caught his breath.  
  
“Mark, are you alright?”

“I...I…I'm fine. Just...just a little…a little winded.” He gulped and finally looked at me. “Are you OK?” He was wheezing slightly and his face was scrunched with what I took as pain.

“Oh Mark. I'm f-f-f-fine,” I suddenly wailed. All of my pent up hormonal rage broke the wall as hormonal hysterics. I threw myself at Mark and knocked whatever wind was left in him out. He let out a distinct _oof_ as I wrapped my arms around him and buried my wet face into the collar of his coat. Always emotionally awkward, it took him a few seconds to process what was happening. But then, he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer to him, a protective hand on the back of my head and his lips against my hair. “Oh, Bridget,” I heard him murmur.

  
Mark let me cry for a few minutes, using that brainiac intuition to decipher that it was probably his best option. After I had sufficiently soaked his collar, I pulled my face away to look at him. “What took you so long?” I sniffed. In hindsight, probably not the nicest question to ask someone who clearly just ran several blocks to be by my side. “My car was double parked, and your texts sounded so urgent that I didn't want to waste time with a taxi...so I ran here,” he replied with a confused expression on his face. _That dumb, handsome face,_ I thought angrily to myself. “Oh,” was the only response I could muster.

  
Mark stepped around me to sit on the bench I had occupied a few moments ago. “Do you mind if we sit?” he asked. I noticed his breath was still a little labored, so I nodded and sat next to him.  
“So, what is all this about, Bridget?”  
  
“Mark, there's been a terrible misunderstanding between--”

“That much I've deciphered.”

“Jack told me what he said to you, about there being no doubt that he was the father. Mark, it's just not true. It honestly isn't. I wore those vegan condoms with both of you, so it's still really anyone’s game. But the fact of the matter is--”

“Bridget, do you mean to tell me that Jack lied to me? And that I could still be the father?” The look on his face was reminiscent of when I hunted him down at the Darcy’s Ruby Wedding Party to tell him that I, too, liked him just the way he is.

“Yes! That's exactly what I'm telling you. I walked out on him and trekked all the way to your house to tell you and apologize...but when I got there, you were on your front stoop with Cherida and I just...panicked. And I left. And I was walking and crying because everything is such a mess, and then I guess I wasn't watching where I was going, and...and...I went to step off the curb and this car almost hit me. It was the scariest thing, Mark, and I just couldn't calm down, so I came here and I've been crying on this park bench ever since.”

  
Mark was looking at me with those brown eyes--it felt like they were boring into my soul. _I hope the baby has his eyes,_ scrolled through my brain as I watched Mark process all of this information at once. It was a laborious process. I knew he would be overwhelmed and there wasn't a chamber door for him to hide behind this time. Suddenly, I saw what I swore were tears pooling at the corner of his eyes. _Is Mark Darcy **crying**?_ He valiantly tried to blink them back, but one rolled down his cheek and he quickly wiped it away with the back of his hand.

  
“Are you...are you _crying_?” I asked in disbelief. Mark looked at me with stern defiance--unfortunately for him, all of the defiance in the world couldn't stop the tears from coming, or stop his neck from going splotchy. I had maybe seen Mark cry once the entire time we were together. I hated it then and I hated it now because it broke my heart to bits. “Mark, please. Don't cry. It's ok! I'm ok! The baby is ok! So what if you're back together with Carissa? I'll be fine on my own...you can have the baby on the weekends and holidays. I'm sure we can figure it out. It's not like we don't know a bloody good barrister.” The words kept spilling out of him in the hopes that they'd stem the tears coming from Mark.

   
Mark blinked rapidly, even as a stray tear streaked down his jawline. I reached out to wipe it for him, and he grabbed my hand. Gently, he kissed my knuckles, the sadness still etched between his brows. “Bridget, you are a literal roller coaster ride,” he said, not letting go of my hand. “Also, you know her name is Camilla.” I felt a blush creep onto my cheeks. “No I don't,” I muttered. Mark’s face finally broke into a smile as he scooted closer to me. “You're not mad, are you?” I whispered, looking down at my lap. I felt Mark’s finger under my chin, pulling my head up to look at him.

  
“You must think I'm some kind of monster, the way you're always asking me that.”

“That's not very fair. I don't think you're a monster at all. I just…you're very good at giving disapproving looks. I don't want to upset or disappoint you is all.”

“Bridget, you couldn't upset me in this moment. You've just made me the happiest man in Holland Park.”

“Why's that?” I asked, knowing damn well why.

“Camilla and I aren't back together, for starters. She was just picking up some things that she had forgotten. Secondly, I've wanted nothing more than to have a family with you, and for weeks now that chance felt like it was ripped from me without an explanation. I've been floundering, trying to get over it...get over you...and I just can't. No matter what I do, I can't get over you, Bridget Jones. And I don't want to get over you. I want to get under you on occasion, and I always want to be near you, but never do I want to get over you. Ever.”

My collar felt hot as I felt a smile creep onto my face. _Mark bloody Darcy is still in love with me!_ The tears had finally stopped falling from Mark’s eyes, but they had started falling from mine. “I've said it once and I'll say it again--I love you, always have, always will,” I choked out. Mark was now grinning as he wiped the tears from my cheeks. “Please kiss me,” I murmured, trying incredibly hard to make as little crying noises as I could. “I thought you'd never ask,” he said. I rolled my eyes at him and said, “Cliche and corny are not your strong suits, Mr. Darcy.” His amber eyes were now almost completely hidden by the crinkles his grin was making, and I truly thought I was going to jump his bones for being so adorable.

  
As I felt his lips brush against mine, my breath left me. I didn't realize how close I had come to losing that feeling forever, and now that I had it back, I never wanted it to leave. I nipped at his lower lip as he leaned in closer to me, and I felt him nip back. The next thing I knew, Mark Darcy and I were publicly making out on a park bench just a few blocks from his house. _If only Pre-Baby Mark could see Post-Baby Mark now,_ I thought to myself with a grin. Mark pulled away hesitantly and said, “Why don't we go back to my place? Candida has left and we'll have it to ourselves.”

  
“Mark, you know full stop her name is Camilla,” I replied in a mocking tone. He grinned at me and kissed me again. “I could give a fuck what her name is. All that matters is Bridget.” I gave him a smug smile and nodded. “Yes, then. Let's. Let's go back to your place,” I said and stood up. Mark stood up next to me and slid his hand in mine--it felt so wonderful to have it back in its rightful place. He looked down at me, a smile on his face... _I could eat ice cream out of that dimple._

  
“I don't have a walk in me, honestly, so let's grab a taxi. I'll snog you silly the whole way back,” he said in a gravelly, sexy tone. I felt an excited shudder through my body. “Mr. Darcy!” I exclaimed. He grinned at me as he hailed a cab.

  
As he looked back at me over his shoulder, I made a mental note to thank Jack for his fib, because without it, I don't think I would've gotten what I'd always wanted in the first place. 


End file.
